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James Joseph Dresnok

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Military Personnel

The Resume

    (November 24, 1941-November 2016)
    Born in Richmond, Virginia
    Private First Class in the US Army
    Defected to North Korea (August 15, 1962)
    Subject of the documentary ‘Crossing the Line’ (2007)

Why he might be annoying:

    At the time of his defection, he was facing a court martial for forging signature on passes to leave the base he was stationed at.
    Rather than face the punishment, he defected.
    He made propaganda films and broadcasts for North Korea.
    Fellow defector Charles Robert Jenkins claimed he was a bully who betrayed other defectors’ secrets to the North Koreans and enthusiastically beat up Jenkins at his captors’ orders.
    He married a Romanian woman who had been abducted by North Korea to keep him company.
    He has said ‘no amount of money’ could entice him to return to the West. (Like anyone was offering.)

Why he might not be annoying:

    After his parents divorced when he was ten, he never saw his mother or younger brother again.
    While he was stationed in West Germany, his wife left him for another man.
    He said, ‘The good thing was that she did not get pregnant by me because I had promised that I would never abandon my children.’
    He managed to run across the minefield in the Korean Demilitarized Zone without blowing himself up.
    He, Jenkins and two other defectors sought asylum in the Soviet embassy, but were handed back to the North Koreans (1966).
    He denied Jenkins’ bullying allegations.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 17 Votes: 94.12% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 9 Votes: 88.89% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying